Convicted Russian national applies for Łukašenka’s pardon

June 27, BPN. Convicted Russian national Sofya Sapega (Safija Sapieha) has applied for a presidential pardon, her family’s lawyer Anton Hašynski told BPN.

“We expect her to be pardoned,” he said.

Sapega is serving a six-year sentence for administering opposition Telegram channel Chernaya Kniga Belarusi.

She and her boyfriend, Belarusian opposition journalist Raman Pratasievič, were arrested in a Minsk airport on May 23, 2021, after their flight had been forced to land.

On June 3, Alaksandr Łukašenka said it would be possible to send Sapega to Russia.

“We have a practice that we can hand over a Russian national to Russia. Let her serve her sentence there. Or let them do whatever they want,” he said. “I think it is a big lesson for her.”